"Metalwork with written inscriptions, which date to the time just prior to the Babylon invasion, have been found in Jerusalem, demonstrating that important messages were recorded on metal at that time. This is fairly impressive considering that since then, Jerusalem has been completely destroyed twice - not including being ransacked, warred with, and claimed at least a half-a-dozen additional times.

According to the Book of Mormon, Nephi is directed to retrieve a specific set of engraved plates that are currently in the possession of a man named Laban. These plates were specifically important because they had a genealogical record that related to Lehi's family which other records would not have contained. The Book of Mormon also mentions that they contained the law and history of the Jews, and the scriptures down to the reign of Zedekiah. Other than this, not much is actually told about these plates. These plates are only one of many other records that make an appearance in the Book of Mormon, and often people attribute qualities of other records to the plates of brass incorrectly.

The Book of Mormon states that this is about 600 BC. The invasion of Babylon is placed at 587 BC by most scholars. In 1979, two silver scrolls were found in Jerusalem that date to the time just prior to the invasion of Babylon. These small silver scrolls contain the engraving of what appears to be a prayer, including the name YHWH (Jehovah).

Engravings have also been found within Israel on copper arrowheads that date to 1000 BC."

Engravings on metal prior to Babylon captivity

Records on metal plates are becoming a fairly common archeological find. Finding records on plates in a specific area during a specific time frame is a little more challenging.

The brass plates as claimed in the Book of Mormon

According to the Book of Mormon, Nephi was sent back to Jerusalem after his family had travelled for three days. The purpose was to recover a record that was held by a man named Laban. These records were claimed to be written on plates of brass.

"For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews and also a genealogy of my forefathers, and they are engraven upon plates of brass."

In the first edition of the Book of Mormon this sentence is found near the bottom of page 9.

There were two important things that were contained on this specific set of plates that made them important. First, it contained genealogy of some of Lehi's forefathers. While Nephi could have obtained any record which recorded the laws of the Jews, the other records would not have contained a record of his family. The second thing that it contained was the scriptural account up until Zedekiah's reign. We also know that it contained the law and history of the Jews, though it is not made clear if this was contained as part of the scriptures or if it was separate. Other than this, we don't know much else about the record. These plates are only one of many other records that make an appearance in the Book of Mormon, and often people attribute qualities of other records to the plates of brass incorrectly.

Evolving criticism of the brass and gold plates

When the Book of Mormon was published, critics mocked Joseph Smith because of this claim. They said that there were no records kept on metal, either in Jerusalem 600 years before Christ, or 400 years afterwards, when the Book of Mormon claims to be compiled on golden plates and buried.

In 1947, the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered, and with them was a scroll made of copper, which was engraved with additional archive locations. At this time the criticism evolved due to the wide coverage of the find. For the majority, the new criticism was that this was a metal scroll and not a metal plate, and that it was dated at a later time than 600 BC as made by the claim.

It's not that nobody had found ancient metal plates before this; it was that the Dead Sea Scrolls were so widely published by the media that they became a well known name. Once the critics realized that there was engraved metal, the criticism could no longer continue in its current form.

There have been other discoveries before and after which have confirmed that records have been recorded on metal. The earliest archeological discovery of these artifacts that I am currently aware of was in 1860. However the difficulty in the claim that we are reviewing is not in finding metal records, but finding a metal record in Jerusalem at about 600 BC.

What happened to all the metal in Jerusalem?

It turns out that finding ancient metals is actually a rather difficult task in Jerusalem. The problem is not in that the materials didn't exist, but the problem is that the materials were made of metal, and therefore valuable. As armies invaded ancient Jerusalem, they would strip any metal object that they could find, and send it back to their parent country, or melt the item down and forge it into something better suited for their army. You can see this in the Old Testament in 2 Kings 25:13.

Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged and attacked numerous times, and has exchanged hands several times. The fist destruction occurred just after the time period that we are examining in this claim. The majority of the metals that have been recovered have been preserved because they were hidden from the invading armies or they were insignificant at the time and then sealed up in one way or another to be discovered later.

The silver scrolls of Jerusalem

In 1979 and 1980, the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, with help of other organizations, began to excavate a series of burial caves that were hewn in the seventh century BC. Here, under one of the burial benches in the cave, was discovered a set of rolled silver scrolls. According to the published report, they were found with amulets and pottery pieces that allow them to be dated to the capture of Jerusalem at 587 BC.

The actual inscription on the piece appears to be of a prayer. While it is incomplete and corroded, YHWH (which is the name of Jehovah in the Hebrew Bible) is easily visible in the scroll.[1]

Engravings in Israel before 600 BC

There is also additional evidence of metal engraving being done even earlier than this in Israel. In 1999, three bronze arrowheads were brought to light that had been previously discovered. These arrowheads date to 1000 BC and have the name of their owner inscribed onto them. [2]

Below you will find references to the 1st edition of the Book of Mormon for the scriptures that I have used in this page. I include these because I have had critics attempt to tell me that the book has been rewritten to include modern findings. This is false. Using the critics highest estimate there is only a 1.5% variation in the exact wording and spelling between the 1st edition of the Book of Mormon and the current edition.

The current edition separates the book into more chapters and adds verse numbers for easier study, so the verses are a little more difficult to spot in the 1st edition. I have attempted to include where you will find them on the page to make this easier.

"in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves ... Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." - 2 Timothy 3:1-2,7

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This site cannot be used as a reference for official doctrine of the LDS church.